HetaOni: Never Enter The Mansion
by ZellareFenrir
Summary: This is the story of HetaOni that follows the original story but creates an ending based on the cliffhanger at the end. This story can be treated as a light novel version of the game as well. You can read and enjoy, I will be make 2 alternate endings of what happens. Rating may possibly go up
1. The Mansion Where None Should ENter

A/N: Hey guys! As I'm sure many of you know, HetaOni is a horror game based off of Ao Oni with Hetalia characters in it, and there is no ending due to the creator putting it on hiatus for about 3 years now. I'm sure everyone is dying to know what would happen after where it left off, and many others have created their own endings.

I will be putting up chapters of what happens currently in HetaOni so far based on the Chapters that starts and ends in the game itself. I will make maybe 2 or more alternative endings based on what happened at the cliffhanger. So basically, for those who doesn't know what HetaOni is yet, you can treat this as a light novel version and read this story to be caught up in the storyline, although I would also recommend you watch the Lets Plays in YouTube to understand some situations a little better.

As for those who has already watched HetaOni and knows it's storyline, if there are any inaccurate things or something missing, let me know and I'll try to fix it the best I can :D

I'm also adding in details from my interpretations of what's happening, for example the dialogues, maybe someone is shifting uneasily or etc. I'd say it would be boring if none of those were added in there. Lol

_(Also, this is literally my first fanfiction... I kind of probably don't know how some things operate here.. hehe ^_^")_ On with the story!

Disclaimers to: Hidekaz Himaruya for Hetalia, Tomoyoshi (I believe?) for HetaOni and it's story, noprops for Ao Oni

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**Chapter I: The Mansion Where None Should ENter.**

_A deserted house in the mountain_

_About three hours on foot_

_From the world summit place._

_No one knows how long it has been there_

_Or who used to live in it_

_Rumors said that it was..._ **_haunted._**

Italy, Germany, Japan, and Prussia walked up to the huge mansion in front of them. "Vee~~ It's really here," Italy said. "I thought it was just a rumor. I never thought we would actually find it..." Japan said quietly. "It has such a desolate feel... Not bad," Prussia jumped in, smirking. "I don't think it's very interesting though." Germany eyed at the mansion ruefully. "Me neither. Can't we just look at it from the outside and then go back?" Japan asked. "Aww~~ After all the trouble we had to find it? C'mon, let's just go in for a little while!" Italy tugged at Germany's arm, begging to go in. "..." Germany gave in, and they all decided to go inside.

"It's cleaner than I thought," Italy commented as he took a look around the main lobby. There were 3 separate hallways and a staircase leading to the second floor. "H-hey. Can we go now?" Germany asked, an uneasy look in his face. Prussia chuckled at his little brother. "What's the matter West? You scared?" Suddenly, a loud crashing noise as if someone had broken a glass was heard echoing from the hallway to the right, startling Italy into hugging Germany, and Prussia and Japan frozen on the spot, looking at the source of the noise. "L-Look, we really should go now." Germany was nearly visibly shaken now. "Oh, don't be silly. It's not like there are any ghosts or anything. Where is your common sense?" Japan said calmly, first to recover from the unexpected noise. He walked towards the hallway to check what happened. "Be careful Japan!" Prussia called out. "I know. I'll just go and see what happened. I'll be right back," he responded, and continued walking through the hallway.

He reached what appears to be the kitchen room, and saw a broken plate on the floor next to the sink. "The plate is... broken. I have to be careful not to hurt myself." Japan picked up a piece of the ceramic plate shard from the broken mess.

Japan quickly walked back through the hallway back to the main lobby, but everyone disappeared. Japan sighs. "Did they leave, after all? ... How regrettable." He walked towards the entrance door and attempted to open it. Unfortunately, it was locked. "... It's locked.." Japan frowned. He decided to explore the mansion a little more, since he couldn't leave anyways. Perhaps he'll find another exit, or the others were still in the mansion as well. He chose to go to the left hallway.

Japan tried a door he saw, but it was locked as well. As he turned the corner further into the hallway, he saw a huge monster that was about to enter a room, it's back facing towards Japan. Alarmed, Japan stayed calm as much as he possibly can as the monster leave. "Wha... What was that, just now? I... Maybe I'm getting tired..." Dismissing the monster as a hallucination, he went to the room on the right, which happens to be the bathroom. He saw the mirror covered in dust, and numerous other things, along with the ordinary toilet. He left and decided it was all he could check for now. He went back to the main lobby once again, and went up the stairs to the second floor. He went to his left through the hallway and found an unlocked room on his right. When he opened it, he immediately saw Germany's whip on the bed. "Is this not... Germany's whip? What is it doing in a place like this?" Japan thought as he picked it up. He exited the room and wandered around the mansion a little more, until he found a strange curtain in the room he just entered. Upon further inspection, he saw that it was shaking. Something was in _there_. Japan backed away cautiously, until he saw Germany coming out.

"G... Germany!" Japan was relieved to see the stoic nation, but something was off. Germany would not stop shaking or chattering his teeth. ".. Germany, where are the others?" Japan asked. Germany didn't respond. "... You look... shaken. I'll go get you something to drink." Japan decided. He left the room and went downstairs. His first immediate thought was the kitchen sink, so he headed there.

Japan tried turning on the faucet, but nothing happened. "The tap isn't working. I'll have to look for water somewhere else." After a moment's thought, he remembered there was a bathroom somewhere nearby. He made a beeline straight to the bathroom he went into earlier, and went up to the sink there. "Maybe I can get water here?" He tested the faucet, and it appears to still be working. "Ah, thank God. It doesn't seem to be broken." He got a cup of water, which he hope wasn't fatally dangerous, and took it upstairs to Germany.

"Germany, I brought you some water. Drink it, and try to calm down a little." Japan offered the cup of water to Germany. "Here. It's not filtered water though..." Germany stared at the cup of water being offered to him. "... Is that... really water?" he asked. "Judging by it's color... Probably..." "I see..." Germany took the cup of water and drank out of it. "Anyway, sorry for falling apart like that. I feel much better now thanks to you." he said, finally recovering from the shock. "That's good to hear. So, where are the others?" Japan prompted. Germany frowned. "I'm... not sure. At any rate, we ran for our lives... And those two went in different directions.. I think.. Sorry, just.. give me a moment to pull myself together." Germany said, taking deep breaths. "Alright. I'll go look for those two. Try to get some rest." Japan said. "Sorry..." Germany apologized once again. "Oh, by the way, I found this when I was running. Maybe it can be of some use to you?" Germany handed a key to Japan. Japan thanked Germany, and left him to rest.

Japan wandered around the mansion some more, trying to fit the key in every locked door he could find. Eventually, he managed to fit the key into the door on the first floor next to the kitchen room. He opened it slowly, and once again, he saw that... _Thing_... wander around the room. But as he walked further into the room, the monster disappeared. The room appears to be the library, or a study room. He looked through some of the books on the shelves. "There's so many books here. If I weren't in such a hurry, I would definitely leaf through them," he noted. He paused for a moment. "Well... just one won't do any harm, right?" He read through a book and he found interesting, and gained new, enlightened knowledge from it. He walked over to the table filled with pieces of paper and books lying everywhere. He also surprisingly found an onigiri. "T.. This is...! An ordinary riceball!" Japan kept it.

Without a warning, the monster appeared and attacked Japan! "YoU... WOn't... ESc...aPe..." the Thing says. Japan dodged a few of it's attack. It was big, but slow, so Japan managed to damage it quite a bit before getting hit himself. Soon afterwards, Japan managed to stun the monster, causing it to take a few steps back. Japan made a break for it and ran immediately towards the door. Japan tried opening the door, but it was locked. The monster was able to come back into focus, and was now looking at Japan, who was still frantically trying to open the door. "The... they key... Oh no... I think I dropped it somewhere.." Japan ran past the monster and quickly searched for the key. He found it on the ground near one of the bookshelf and snatched it up. He ran swiftly for the door, unlocked it, got out of the room, and locked it behind him. He sat in front of the door, panting. "... Wha... What on Earth was THAT thing?!" Japan exclaimed. "I have to find the others as soon as possible."

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A/N: Anddd that's the end of Chapter 1! That was a lot harder than I thought... since there are old and new versions of the game on Youtube, I'm going with the newer version, so the places where the chapters stop at may be different. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, whether you know the story or not already. I kind of just failed near the end because I have no idea what I was doing anymore xD Have a nice day aru~!


	2. Chapter II: FindinG FRiends

A/N: Hey guys! Here's chapter 2 of HetaOni!

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**Chapter II: FindinG FRiends.**

Japan sat there for a few more moments, catching his breath. He suddenly realized that he hasn't heard the Thing for a while now. He unlocked the door and slowly opened it, making sure it wouldn't suddenly jump and attack him again. He entered the room now, and saw that there was nothing there anymore. He found another key on the floor as well. "A key? I hadn't noticed it before. Maybe that Thing dropped it during our fight." He picked it up and examined it. It was a peculiar key, and it doesn't seem to fit with any of the keyholes that he's seen so far. He decided he would finally search the third and fourth floor for the room that fits with the key.

Japan found the room furthest away from the staircase on the fourth floor that fits with the key. He unlocked the door and opened it. The room was clean and organized, the same with all the other rooms. There was a fancy looking chair at the edge of the wall as well. He heard squeaking noises near the wall behind the bookcase though. Japan moved the bookcase away, and found a mochi. "Oh, a mochi. Are you stuck?" Japan tried to pull the mochi out of the wall. "Ah, I can't get you out. Not like this... Poor thing. I think Germany might be able to get you out though. I wonder if he would come here for that?" Japan stood, thinking. "Then again, maybe I will have to get HIM out. ... No. Anyway, I'll ask him."

Japan walked back down to the second floor to talk to Germany. When he entered the room though, there was something different in it. "Wha...? Was that door here before? Or is it just my imagination? I'm sure it wasn't an iron door, though..." Japan shook his head and knocked on the door. "Hm.. Germany, do you have a minute?" Germany responded, "Is that you, Japan? What's the matter?" "You see, there's a mysterious mochi stuck in a wall in a room on the fourth floor. I feel a little sorry for it, so I was wondering if you could get it out..." Japan explained. "I see. Okay. I'll go and get it out. I just have one favor to ask you, though." Germany said. "Sure, if it's something I can do." Japan replied. "You see, when I was running, I dropped my whip. I think we should have some kind of weapon in case that _THING_ shows up again. If it's not too much trouble, could you please look for it?" Germany asked. Japan suddenly remembered about the whip. "What a coincidence! Actually, I found your whip a while ago!" "... Oh." Germany said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Wait, I'll pass it to you." Japan opened the iron door slightly and passed Germany's whip to him. "It was lying on the bed next door." "Oh, I... see..." Germany cleared his throat. "... Thank you." "Not at all. I only found it by chance, after all. Now let's go to the fourth f-" "Ah! Japan! I'm sorry, but..." Germany cut in. "Yes? What is it?" Japan asked. "Ah.. I'm really, really sorry, but... Actually, I'm hungry too. Don't you have anything for me to eat?" Japan grimaced. "To eat... I'm sorry, but I didn't bring any food with me. I don't have anything that could be used as an ingredient either..." "I see! So, if it's not too much trouble, could you please go look for something to eat?" Germany asked, sounding a little too delighted. Japan became alarmed. "Wh... Whaaaaat?! Th... That's impossible! How could I possibly find any food in this place?!" "Please! I have no strength right now. Anything is fine, just find me something, okay?" Germany begged. "... Haa... Alright. I'll take another look around. I also have to look for Italy anyway." Japan said. "I see! Thank you!" By this time, it was becoming obvious that Germany did not want Japan to coax him out. "By the way, did you find my brother?" "No... But he should be fine. Somehow." Japan answered. "Sorry for all the trouble. Oh! By the way, take this with you." Germany gave him a bottle of beer. "A drink?! And beer, at that?!" Japan thought in his head. "Ah, thank you very much. I'll be going now, then." "Okay, thanks."

Japan wandered back down on the first floor again, and ended up in the bathroom. He saw that the toilet was different this time. "This toilet... It seems that I can buy something from it if I insert money, somehow." He inserted some HETAs into a slot on the side of the toilet somehow, and bought some onigiris and beer. When he exited the bathroom, he noticed the door on the right was left open. He carefully approaches the silent open door. He finally steps into the room, but it was too dark to see anything. "Wow, it's pitch black in here. Where is the switch?" Japan felt along the walls inside and found the switch and turned it on. When the lights when on, the Thing was right in front of him! Frozen in shock, Japan stood still as the Thing walked slowly towards Japan, and started attacking him. Japan ducked and rolled to the side, but with the little space he had in the room, it was nearly impossible. "YoU... WOn't... ESc... aPe..." it said once again as it swung it's arm at Japan. Japan blocked it with his Tachi sword, and tried to cut it off. He used his curse skill to stun and poison it, then finished it off with a slice to the head, causing the monster to disappear. The lights turned off along with it's disappearance. Japan started panicking. "It turned the lights off?! Is it going to..." The lights turned back on as quickly as it was turned off. "Eh?!" Japan looked around bewilderingly. "It's gone... I'm worried about Italy. I'd better hurry." He searched around the room quickly, and found a key that seems to match with one of the bedroom doors. After that, he purchased Onigiris and Beer from the toilet and fully restored his health and energy.

Japan exited out of the bathroom and went to the second floor, open the door on the southern most room to the right. He started having an uneasy feeling in the room, so he locked the door behind him. He saw Prussia huddling in between the beds. Japan came near Prussia. Prussia heard Japan's footsteps, and immediately became alarmed. "Hh! Who's there?!" Prussia immediately spun around and tried to swing his sword at Japan, who hastily backed away. "Woah! C-Calm down! It's me!" Japan said. "Oh, it's you Japan? Ah... Sorry." Prussia said, relaxed after seeing a friend. "Are you alright?" Japan questioned. "Th-There was a monster! I saw it! A- A stark, naked giant with the color of a rotten scone!" Prussia yelled. "..." Japan merely stared at Prussia. "It's true! We all saw it! Me, and West, and Italy too!" Prussia said, trying to convince Japan. "Yes, I know." Japan responded coolly. Prussia ranted on. "Before I knew it, I'd wound up here. Those two... I don't know where they went. ... Am I making any sense?" "Yes, quite. That does make sense. I saw it, too." Japan answered. "What the hell is that THING? O... Oh! And what happened to the others?!" Prussia blurted. "Please calm down. Would you like me to bring you something to drink?" Japan says. "Eh? Well... Now that you mention it, I am a little thirsty. Do you have some water or something?" "No, but I can go get you some. Would you like me to?" "Yeah... No, wait. Nevermind, I don't really need it. What happened to the other two?" "Germany is on the same floor. He claimed he was hungry. But... I haven't found Italy. Do you have any idea where he might be?" Prussia quickly went into panic. "What?! Italy's missing?! Do you think he was attacked by that monster?" "We can't be 100% sure.. But he's very fast and good at running away. I do believe he managed to escape somehow." Prussia became more excited and determined. "Alright! Then I'll look for him too! But first, let's go where West is. What's he doing anyway?" Japan answered back, "He said he was too hungry to move. Prussia, don't you have anything for him to eat?" "Something to eat..." Prussia thought for a moment. "Now that you mention it, I did find some mushrooms while I was running away. Will that do?" Japan nodded, "That should do." 'Alright! Then let's..." Prussia cut himself off for a moment as a look of fear crossed his face. Japan tilted his head slightly to him. "What's the matter?" "Don't you hear the sound of something... getting... closer?" Prussia whispered with terror in his voice. Japan and Prussia listened in silence. They knew that _Thing_ is coming again.

"Hey, say..." Prussia began, "If that thing on your waist isn't just for show, pull it out of it's sheath. If you don't want to get eaten, that is." Japan gave a slight nod. "Agreed." Japan pulled out his katana from his sheath and together with Prussia, raised their swords in a guarding stance. The door was suddenly being pounded, alerting the two nations. Soon, the banging stopped, and it was completely quiet. "... Is it gone?" Prussia asked. "Yes, probably." Japan responded. Prussia relaxed a little, reassured that the Thing must be gone now. "Alright. That was a little scary, but now we should join West. Let's find Italy and get out of here as soon as possible!" "Indeed." Prussia joined Japan in the search for Italy.

Japan slowly unlocked the door and opened it. Unfortunately, the nations were wrong. The Thing were waiting right outside for them. Japan and Prussia jumped to the opposite side as the Thing smashed the floor between them. "Waah! I thought it was gone!" Prussia shouted. "Apparently not." Japan said. "The more I look at it, the scarier it looks! I can't use my awesome techniques like this! Do something!" Prussia yelled frantically. Japan sighed quietly to himself, "Good grief..." Japan launched himself at the Thing, attacking it's side. Prussia joined in right after, while it was distracted by Japan, and attempted to cut it's neck. It barely made a dent on the Thing. After a few more attacks with their swords, Japan cursed the monster, and Prussia used one of his awesome techniques with the power of the Cross, which finally made the Thing stunned and stumble back. It somehow dropped 100 HETA and an Onigiri.

"Japan! Run! QUICKLY!" Prussia yelled, and they both ran for their lives. The Thing caught up to them, sadly. It took a swung at Prussia, who managed to dive to the floor to avoid getting hit. "Prussia, come!" Japan beckoned urgently. They ran straight to the room Germany was in. "Come, quickly!" Prussia said, and burst through the door. After catching their breaths. Japan walked up to the iron door-ed closet. "This is the fortress where Germany is." "It's pretty solid," Prussia commented, and banged on the iron door. "Hey, West! Japan told me you were hungry. D'you want some mushrooms?" Prussia called out through the door. "Is that you, Prussia? Are you all right?!" Germany shouted from behind. "Yeah, I'm fine! But I have bad news! Italy is still missing! And we have to help a mochi." Prussia explained. "Hmm. Alright. I'm done here, so we can go now." Germany says. He exits the iron door closet. "I don't really get what we're supposed to do, but let's go to the fourth floor!" Prussia said. Japan nods towards him. "Can we come back here once in a while?" Germany asks. "I don't mind but... Do you actually like those narrow spaces?" Japan questioned. "Well, you could say that I'm... used to them. There's a lot of room, though," Germany answered. "Oh..." was all Japan could say. "Do you want to leave now?" Prussia asked, tapping his foot impatiently. "I... I really hope Italy is fine.." Germany murmured. Germany joined the party in search of Italy, and the three nations finally left for the fourth floor.

They reached the room where the mochi was stuck in. "Well?" Japan asked. Prussia tried pulling on the mochi. "It's stuck pretty deep. Can you do it, West?" Prussia asked Germany. Germany went over and pulled with all his might. "Huggggnn!" He eventually let go, with the mochi still stuck in the wall. "Sorry, I can't do it with my bare hands. Maybe if I had some kind of tools." Germany apologized. "A tool.." Japan said thoughtfully, "Well, it's a big house. I'll take a look around." "Yeah, I would be really thankful if you could find something useful." Germany said. "Oh, well. I guess we'll have to split up again to look for it." Prussia suggested. Germany tried pulling at the mochi again. "Ngggh... Wooaaaaargh!" Germany yelled hoarsely. Prussia fell to the ground laughing, "Awesome face!" "Well then, I'll be going ahead. I'll come back as soon as I find anything good." Japan said. "I think I'll go too. Actually, I haven't looked around very much. Might as well do some exploration!" Prussia said happily. "Thanks," Germany said. Japan parted ways from Germany and Prussia.

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A/N: And that's the end of Chapter 2! The battle scenes are really hard to write out, so please bear with me xD I can barely write it into a story without having it literally sound like it came from a game... which it did. Oh well, hope you all enjoyed, ve~!


	3. Chapter III: The AllieS

A/N: Hey guys! Here's chapter 3, the Axis takes a break while the Allies comes in!

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**Chapter III: The ****AllieS.**

Japan walked over to the only room on the fourth floor besides the one Germany was in. There was a lever on the wall in the far corner with a note next to it. Japan read the note. It says, "Up is Heaven, Middle is Earth, Down is Hell." "The Earth...?" Japan decided to pull the lever to the middle, but nothing happened. There was only Heaven and Hell left. After a few moments of debating, Japan decided to pull the lever down. "Ah, it broke." But something changed behind him. It seems like the sack had moved, and there was something strange on the floor. Japan tested it with his foot, curious. The floor suddenly gave way and Japan fell down.

He landed in a blank, gray room with a few bookcases against the wall and a piano in the middle of the room. He inspected the piano. "It's an ordinary piano. ... Maybe I can play something?" He sat on the piano benched and played the first song in mind,_iNSaNiTY_. "It's not off-tune, even if it has probably been here for years." There was nothing out of the ordinary or anything useful in the room, so he left to explore elsewhere.

Japan noticed that he seemed to have landed on the third floor, given the strange pot that was lying near the stair. He found another unlocked room and entered a huge room with rows upon rows of bookshelves filled with numerous different books. Italy appeared from the other side of the room. "Italy!" Japan exclaimed. "Japan! You're okay!" Italy said joyfully. "Yes, thank God. Somehow." Japan was relieved to see Italy. Now everyone has been found. "Right after you left, a monster suddenly appeared from the hallway and came after us," Italy explained, "Germany was the first to scream. You... heard him, didn't you?" Japan frowned. "No, not at all..." "I see. Germany's scream surprised me too, and I was too confused at the time and tried to run away and leave you behind. I'm sorry, Japan..." Italy confessed. "But the front door wouldn't open no matter what and we split up while running away." "No need to apologize. Anyone would have done the same in a situation like that. Even me." Japan said calmly. "Still... what on Earth is going on in this house? The exit door and the windows can't be opened. Our cell phones don't work, either." "Yep. It looks like we're locked up," Italy said sadly. "But! I'm so glad I found you, Japan!" Aren't you hurt or anything? Aren't you hungry?" "I'm fine. But... you're surprisingly calm about this, Italy. You were even wandering around the house..." Japan commented. "Well... When that monster appeared, I wanted to cry and cling to Germany, but.. Well, both Germany and Prussia were falling apart, too." Italy said quickly. "So I figured someone needed to keep a level head, and even I was amazed but how calm I felt! And then I began to look around for everyone so we could get out of here as soon as possible!" "That makes sense... I was startled at first too, but after seeing everyone else so flustered, I felt oddly calm." Japan agreed. "So, what about Germany and Prussia? Haven't you found them yet?" Italy asked. "No, I've found them. They're on the fourth floor, but I'll explain the details on the way. They were both very worried about you. You'd better go and let them see you as soon as possible." "Ah, okay! Let's go together, then! I found some stuff when I was exploring, so I'll leave them with you. I also made pasta~ You can have that, too." Italy smiled. He gave many items to Japan, and joined his party. Japan quickly ate the pasta with Italy, restoring their energy once again.

Japan and Italy walked together to the mochi room where Germany was in. When they arrived, they saw the huge Thing in front of Prussia and Germany. "AAAACK! Japan! The THING! It's the THING!" Italy screamed. "Tsk... You came too soon! Japan, take Italy with you and run!" Prussia ordered. However, Germany abandoned thoughts on everyone's immediate safety. "Italy! You're alright!" he exclaimed. "G-Germany~.. Ve... Your face looks weird..." Italy said. "Me and West will take care of this! Just go, quickly!" Prussia yelled. Japan didn't move, and only stood still, staring at the scene before him. "Japan!" Prussia yelled again. "My, my... I must be losing my hearing in my old age. I can't hear you at all." Japan stated simply. "Wha...?! Huh?!" Prussia was shocked at his statement. He turned to Italy. "Hey, Italy!" Italy was startled. "Oh, um... I suddenly got deaf too!" he piped in. "Italy! You-!" Germany shouted. "Now that you mention it~ We've been in peace for a while now, so I'd completely forgotten about it~" Italy said as an afterthought. "Italy... Japan..." Germany sighed. "It is my honorable duty to fight along with you. Let's go, Italy." "Y-Yeah!" Japan and Italy joined in their fight.

Germany whipped at Steve, making it turn his attention towards him. Japan and Prussia did their slashing combos at the Thing. Prussia used his power of the cross too, but the Thing evaded and struck Prussia, knocking him out. "Ah, u-um... Peperoncino!" Italy shouted, and the book in his hand glowed, along with Prussia. "Hey! I still got some fight left in me! Prussia screamed." H-How did you do that?" Germany asked, stunned. "... Let's focus on the battle and ask questions later." Japan said. Germany started torturing the Thing with his whip repeatedly, as Japan quickly gave Prussia an onigiri. The Thing, tired of Germany's abusive attacks, headed towards Italy and tried crushing him. Italy narrowly dodged it, and smacked the Thing's head with his book out of fear. Prussia and Japan forced the Thing away, eventually causing enough damage to make it disappear.

"It's gone..." Japan said. "Ve~ It really IS a ghost..." 'Italy!" Germany ran over to Italy and Japan with Prussia following. 'The hell?! You totally ignored what I said!" Prussia said crossly. Germany shook his head. "I thought the two of us alone could do something about it... Sorry. You really helped. Are you okay too?" "Yep. But I'm so relieved now! You two ran away really fast, so I'd been wondering what had happened to you." Italy replied with a wide smile. "I am really glad that everyone is all right. Now, what are we going to do from here?" Japan inquired. "Yeah. The Thing could show up here again, so we should move to a room that is as safe as possible. Besides, if the four of us stick together, it won't be so scary." Prussia pointed out. "Good idea, Prussia! Now, let's search for a room that looks as safe as possible. And let's not split up, of course." Germany added. Italy jumped for joy. "Roger, Captain!" Everyone joined in the party to search for the safest room in the mansion.

Japan picked up the wooden box from behind the curtains before they left the room. The first room they went to is the room across with the lever. Japan decided to try pulling the lever to Earth again. "Ah! The lever broke!" Japan exclaimed. A key dropped next to Italy. He picked up. "I think this is for the second floor..." he said. They visited the piano room on the third floor while checking around. Italy walked up to the piano and stared at the keys. "... Maybe... a bit of music could lighten up the atmosphere?" Italy sat on the piano bench and started playing _Dark Marukaite Chikyuu_ quietly while Germany, Prussia, and Japan checked around the room. When he stopped, he noticed everything was mostly the same as before. "... Actually, I don't think this helped a lot." They left the room and went downstairs to the second floor. Japan found a match box underneath a table in a room. They eventually found the room for the key. In the room, there was a long table with many stools and two double beds and a damp fireplace. The party deemed it safe enough to rest for the time being. Japan locked the door behind him.

"We can't get too careless, but I think we're safe here, for now. We have the key, and the door is firmly locked from the inside." Prussia said. "It is only temporary, but it should do for one night, I suppose..." Japan said hesitantly. Italy stretched and yawned. "One night is good enough for me. I'm really tired from running around~" Germany nodded. "You're right. We ran a lot for one day. It makes me feel like having some beer..." "I'm a little cold too... I wonder if it's because of this house?" Italy asked. "If I'm not mistaken, we found some matches. There is also enough firewood for one night, so we can warm up." Japan answered. "Hm. I'll do it, then." Germany took the matches and wooden box from Japan and lit a fire in the fireplace. He backed off and stood by Prussia. "Ooh, that's nice!" Prussia said, feeling the heat of the fire. "Yes, I feel much better now that we have some light. And now I'm not alone either." Japan commented. "Yeah~ But it was really scary at first! Even though Germany was the first to run away, it was me that monster chased after!" "Yeah, you're right. I remember thinking, 'No! Not my precious little Italy!' and then both the monster and Italy disappeared! And West had vanished too," Prussia said. "I hate supernatural things! B-Besides, it's not like I just ran and hid- Well, never mind now. As long as we're all okay, it doesn't matter." Germany retorted. "Yes, exactly. Besides, rather than think about how we acted in the past, we should discuss what to do from now on." Japan said. "I see. We can only conclude that the monster has really made us prisoners here. Though, having no way out is what really bothers me..." Germany observed. "Indeed, I really wish I could go home. I've been waiting for several games that will be released soon..." Japan sighed. "Me too. I can't eat pasta or pizza like this!" Italy said ruefully. "Um, hey, you keep talking about a way out... If all the exits are locked, why don't we just make one ourselves? Didn't you do that when you were prisoners of war too? It's time to put that into practice now!" Prussia suggested. Japan chuckled. "That brings me memories too. I miss those times when I tried to commit seppuku." "Germany worked hard to make a way out for us. But this time, I'll do everything I can too!" Italy declared. "Alright, alright. So the plan is tomorrow to make a way out. We can't forget about that," Germany concluded. "Right. well now I don't know what time it is, but let's sleep here tonight." Japan stated. "My watch broke when I wasn't looking too!" Italy said as well. "Wait, wouldn't it be dangerous if we all go to sleep?" Germany said, "I think one of us should stay up and keep watch." "You definitely have a point. So, shall we play janken to decide fairly who will keep watch tonight?" Japan asked. "Jan-ke? What are the rules?" Italy was confused. "Well, er... It's a very simple game. You play by showing three types of hand-signs..." Japan explained. "Whatever, let's do it already! I'm really tired! I wanna sleep!" Prussia growled. Germany tried calming Prussia down while Japan explains to Italy. "Prussia, wait just a little." "-and Rock beats Scissors. You can throw Rock, Scissors, or Paper." Japan finished. Understanding dawned Italy's eyes. "Ah, it's a little like 'La Morra! Okay, I got it Japan! Let's do it!" "Let's go then." Japan, Italy, Germany, and Prussia readied their hand, and placed their choices. In the end, Prussia lost, and the rest slept on the bed while he kept watch next to the table.

"Aah... Seriously, it's so fun being alone.." Prussia grinned to himself. He glanced at the three sleeping nations. "But those three, they really sound asleep..." he murmured. "Haaa... If only I had my computer, I could update my blog. Now all I can do is take pictures of their sleeping faces," he grumbled. "It's just... their serious faces when we were playing janken... They looked awesome. I couldn't resist them." He laughed for a bit. Then a sudden cold draft mysteriously swept by. "I'm kinda... cold. The fire is... strong enough. What the hell?! I just felt a chill running down my spine..." He heard something near the door, which made him alerted and stood up from his stool. "Th-! L-look, this isn't funny. I'm just... hearing things, right?" Prussia stared at the door. "There's no one here! No one! Why aren't those three waking up?! Can't they hear anything?! Hah! That's it! I'll use Japan's strategy and pretend I'm not here! If I turn off my aura, I won't be found!" Prussia stood still for a moment. "... I guess I can't do it. Right, I have no choice then..." Prussia walked over to the front of the door. "Forgive me. It's tough being alone." he muttered. Prussia wavered, his hand outstretched and hesitant over the doorknob. "... SHIT! No! I won't die yet!" he cursed and left the room to slash his sword immediately at the unknown beyond.

_You cannot easily set foot into that "mysterious mansion" in your town._

_Because if you anger its former occupant, you will not get away lightly..._

_Especially when there are no people there..._

England, America, France, Ivan, China, and Canada found the mansion and stood in front of it, marveling from the outside. "It's really here!" China exclaimed. "I thought it was just a rumor. But its actually here..." England said, stunned. "The desolate feel gives it a rather... nice touch, vous ne trouvez pas?*" France asked. "I don't think it's very interesting though," Canada said quietly. America looked around. "Did you hear a voice just now?" Russia merely chuckled. "Oh America, you tease~! We didn't hear anything, did we?" Canada stood silently apart from the others, feeling miserable at people's ignorance. "Still... It doesn't really look like a very fun place," America continued. England stared at the mansion, deep in thought. "Well, why don't we take a little look inside and then go back? I think we can leave before nightfall," Russia suggested. "Yeah! I don't want to stay too long, either!" China agreed. "Eh bien, alors**, shall we go in?" France asked, and led the way in.

"The rumors say that there are ghosts here, da? That's why, nobody comes near the place..." Russia mentioned. "No wonder. It's such an eerie place," America shuddered. "Huh? How unusual of you, America. Are you scared?" Canada asked. "No, but it's a little.. Hey' where is everyone?" America cut off. "Um..." Russia tried to remember. "They said they would leave the first floor to us, and then they went right up to the second floor." "Hmmm... Then we'll-" America was cut short when everyone suddenly got knocked out.

"It's cleaner than one would expect, isn't it?" France commented, walking around the second floor. "Y-yeah but... Um, can we go now?" England shifted uneasily. France looked at him slyly. "What's the matter, England? Are you scared?" "O-of course not, you idiot! That's not it!" England retorted. "It's just that, this place is sort of..." "Haaa... It's silly. There are no ghosts here or anything. You can go back." China said, annoyed. He walked away from the group past the stairs. "Hey, hey, are you going to look around on your own?" France asked. China turned around and answered, "I'll just peek into this room over here. It smells a little bad." "What? Isn't that a little risky?" England asked, but China merely walked on. "Hey, w-wait!"

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A/N: Well, that's the end of Chapter 3! France said some things in French, so if you didn't understand, here:

*vous ne trouvez pas? = Don't you think so?

** Eh bien, alors, = Eh well, then,

We'll see what really happens to Russia, Canada, and America on the next chapter, or why England is freaking out... (lets try to minimize the spoiling, even though most people know how this goes already. xD) Hope you enjoyed, da~?


	4. Chapter IV: GunshOts

A/N: Hey guys! So I'm back with chapter 4 of HetaOni! I'm VERY sorry that this came out late, finals were just a rush and got on my nerves, and when winter break came, I was just almost literally sent off to Las Vegas (I blame America for this) so I just got back now and decided to upload this as quick as possible! Enjoy!

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**Chapter IV: GunshOts.**

France, England, and China stood in front of the fireplace room. "I can't help but have a very unpleasant feeling about this place.." France commented quietly. England stood in silence, staring at the door and frowning. France tilted his head at him. "You've been really quiet for a while now. What's wrong? Is there something strange here?" England merely stood silent for a while longer. "... No.. there's nothing.. or rather, no one at all." China looked at England as if he just had amnesia. "Russia and the others are on the first floor," China reminded him. "Yes, I know that," England answered irritatedly," When I said there's no one here at all, I meant... How should I put it...?" England frowned deeper. "It feels.. as though everything has been... consumed.." "You mean you can't see the usual illusions? If even illusions have been consumed, maybe we really should keep out," France said. China nodded in understanding. "I agree. In that case, I'll take a look upstairs. What are you going to do, Opium?" "I don't really want to stay on this floor. I'll go upstairs too," England replied. France looked at them with shock. "You're leaving me here all alone? Well, then, when you're done checking out upstairs, we'll meet again here," he said nonchalantly. "Alright, then we'll leave the second floor to you,: China responded. "Thirty minutes should be enough. Don't fall asleep on us, France." England warned him. France grinned at him. "You can trust me~ Well, see you later." France walked away to the other far end of the hallway. "Are you going to start from that room over there?" China asked. "Oui~ That room is bad news, isn't it? I'll leave it for later!" France said cheerfully and continued walking on. "Let's go quickly. If we make America wait, he won't shut up about it." England said. "You look pale. You really hate it here, don't you?" China left for the third floor. "... I never thought I would envy people who can't 'See' so much," England murmured. China turned around. "What was that? I didn't hear you." "Nothing," was England's curt reply, and they went to explore the third floor.

China and England checked the library but found nothing useful or interesting. They exited through the other door and found the piano room. "There is something about this room that is bothering me..." England said to himself. He walked up to the piano and stared at it. "... That piano, I wonder..." He began to play his song, causing China to get slightly irritated while checking around. "There's nothing here that's out of the ordinary," China reported when England finally finishes playing. "Hm.. let's explore the fourth floor then."

China and England arrived at the fourth floor and checked the room with the fancy chair and the mochi in it. England appeared to recognize the chair right away. "Oh! That's..." China cut in, saying, "What a creepy chair. It looks like a cursed chair I saw somewhere." England was about to say something about China's comment, but decided against it. "Well, we've come all the way to the fourth floor, but... everything looks pretty normal. The air is terrible though." "The bad feeling still isn't gone. Let's go back to France and go home!" China declared. "Yeah, well let's-" England was interrupted by loud, repeated barrages of gunshots nearby. "That sound..." England became very pale after the noises. "Is it the sound of America's pistol? He fired a lot." China looked at the direction of the source of sound with wonder. "That means something must have happened, right?" China looked at England as if he was just being silly. "In a place like this? Don't you think he just fell for Russia's provocation?" The statement calmed England a little. "Oh, well. They do get carried away when they mess around with each other..." Reassured by China's reasoning, he regained his posture. "No... I feel that it's something different from messing around..." China said quietly. "Anyway, let's join France and go take a look." "Pfffff..." England made an angry and irritated noise at China. "If you insist!" England went to look at the far corner of the room where they discovered the mochi. "What's that... thing?" England asked. "I don't think it's very important for now. Let's leave it alone." China responded. They left the room and quickly went to the second floor.

When China and England arrived, no one was in sight. "Fifteen minutes... Isn't France coming?" England was becoming annoyed and slightly worried. "What's the meaning of this? It shouldn't take this long to see the second floor." China said. "Maybe he got tired of waiting and went downstairs?" England suggested. "... Well, he certainly gets bored easily. I'll check the rooms on the second floor to make sure we didn't miss each other. You wait here!" China commanded. "Yeah, or else we might miss each other again," England agreed. England waited by the stairs while China went off to explore. China eventually found the fireplace room, which is completely empty now. He followed the bad smell and checked the fireplace. "Burnt firewood... So this is the source of the bad smell." China concluded. He noticed something and sifted through the burnt things. "... Huh?" He grabbed and lifted up pieces of white clothes from the ashes of the fireplace. "These are- No doubt about it... It's- Japan's clothes." He examined the clothes and the remains of burnt items in the fireplace. "Wh-why are they covered in blood like this...? There are... remains of several things in the fireplace. But I can't tell what got burnt.." China kept the pieces of clothes with him and walked outside briskly. He met up with England by the stairs again. "Well? Did you find him?" England asked. China merely stared at him quietly, holding on to Japan's clothes tightly. "You- you look frightfully pale! Wh-what have you got there?" England noticed the clothes. "It's... It's Japan's clothes... Half of it got burnt, though..." China explained. "This is... blood... right? Wait, did you say they're Japan's clothes? You mean they-" China cut him off once again. "This place is dangerous! But if Japan is here, it's a different matter! I'll look for him and then go home!" England tried to reason with him. "C-calm down, I say! Try thinking about this rationally! Why would Japan be here? Listen, we only came here because we went along with America's idiotic story and had nothing better to do, right?" "That's why this is so weird!" China complained. "You said it yourself, didn't you? You sent that message to Japan. When you talked to him about it at the meeting place, he said, 'I'll see what I can do,' which is what he says when he doesn't want to do something, so he didn't come. And when we got into the mansion, you sent him a message saying, 'We're here', and he replied, 'Be careful,' only once. But he sent that from the meeting place!" China finally got reasoning through his head. "Oh..." "Just think about it. He's in the meeting place right now! He couldn't possibly have got here before us." England said with certainty. "Th-then what is this?! These are the same clothes that Japan was wearing today! Why would the same clothes be burning in the fireplace?!" China argued. "Well..." England didn't have an answer to it. "France is missing, too. America was shooting at something. This place is too weird! I'll go talk to the others about it." China said. "Alright. Anyway, let's go back. The chances that these belong to Japan- Well, we can't be sure of anything yet." England said and left it at that.

China and England went downstairs to the first place in search of America and his gunshots. China and England wandered into the study room briefly before continuing to follow the sounds. China checked the bookcases and found a piece of paper. It was a signed marriage certificate, but someone has scribbled on it so harshly that you can't read the names anymore. China attempted to read the names, but to no avail. "I wonder who married who?" he asked. England, finally realizing what China was holding, suddenly started to panic. "Let's just... leave it here, shall we?" he told him nervously. "Why? I wonder..." England "incidentally" fell on China, and snatched the paper away. He got up and off of China immediately. "I'm sorry," England apologized to China, who was dusting himself. "Where's the paper?" China asked. "...Away. Far away. Far far away." England merely said. 'What on Earth is France's marriage contract doing here?!' England thought to himself as he walked away. 'I need to find someplace to burn this!'

They arrived at the kitchen, and saw that Canada and Russia were facing The Thing. "Aargh! What the-! Uh? Huh?!" England couldn't sort out his reaction. "Th... Wha... What the hell is that monster?!" China exclaimed. Russia glanced at the new arrivals. "Ah, you two sure took your time, didn't you? As you can see, we're in the middle of an assault." Russia explained. "Y-you two.. b-b-better run-" Canada tried to warn. The Thing quickly advanced towards Canada, but Russia managed to block the attack in time. "R... Russia!" Canada yelled. Russia breathed heavily. "... That hurt. The water pipes in this place really are no good at all. Good thing I got one of my own!" he said cheerfully. "I-It's no use! Even if it's yours, it's just a tap!" Canada said. Russia ignored him and went to swing his pipe at the Thing. "Huuuuuuuuh?! How come the pipe turned into a sword?!" China said, bewildered. "Ahah. Actually, this is a sword cane. I asked Japan to make it for me! It's really sharp, isn't it?" Russia explained. He swung at Thing again several times, but it appeared to be unaffected. "Woeeeeh! That's nasty!" China exclaimed. "But it didn't cause any damage at all.." Canada said. "L-let's give them reinforcements!" England shouted. "Right, aru!" China agreed, and joined in the battle.

"dIE!" the Thing said, and attempted to smash them all. China was tossed against the wall while England fell back from the aftershock and Russia and Canada took a heavy blow. The Thing went on a rampage and nearly knocked everyone out. "Ts... Aah... Haa..." Canada panted as he tried to get up. "Aww, too bad. It didn't work at all." Russia commented casually. "England, why aren't you doing anything useful?!" China blamed. "No, er... Sorry. This place itself is blocking my magic; it looks like I can only use a small part of it..." England explained apologetically. "What a troublesome place! I have no strength left..." China whined. The Thing advanced towards England menacingly. "Er, wait a s-" Suddenly, red, cursed, magical lights appeared out of nowhere. "I won't let you lay a hand on my friends." Japan said calmly and forced the Thing back. "EH?! J-Japan?!" England shouted with shock. "Now everyone is together. However, I'll ask you to wait a little before we can talk," Japan said politely. "Japan! So you did come here!" China said, with a mix of relief and anger. "You are alright, I suppose? Excuse me while I deal with this Thing, then." Japan said. "B-but, it's awfully strong..." Canada protested. "We'll help?" Russia offered. "No need to worry," Japan said simply. He examined everyone in the room. "... It really did a number on you, didn't it? Allow me to pay it back in kind for the injuries you sustained." Japan said. "This is quite a convenient opponent for me to unleash my wrath on!" he shouted angrily, and did a jump attack.

The Thing stumbled back as Japan landed. He brandished his katana and charged forward again. "Blade of Wrath!" Japan shouted, and his katana glowed bright orange. He struck the Thing on it's head, causing enormous damage. The Thing disappeared once again. "Wow. He looks just like Canada now." Russia commented. "Just say he disappeared, will you?" Canada asked in an irritated tone. Japan walked towards England, who was lying on the ground, watching the battle scene. "Can you get up, England?" Japan asked, and offered his hand. England took it and allowed himself to be helped up by Japan. "Y-yeah. Anyway, Japan, have you fought that monster before? It wasn't the first time... was it?" he asked. "What? What are you talking about? You have fought it before too, haven't you? You got here first, after all," Japan said with confusion. "We haven't been here for even an hour. And you... weren't even supposed to be here yet.." China counter-explained. "That's true, when you put it that way. I mean, China sent Japan a message and Japan replied from the meeting place, right?" Russia asked. "Yes, and then Italy started saying that he wanted to come too, so Germany, Prussia, and I came with him... but..." Japan answered hesitantly. "What? But it takes three hours to come here from the meeting place. We really have been here for only about an hour. Don't you think that's a little odd?" Canada questioned. "... There are many things we need to talk about," Japan decided, "First of all, let's go to the second floor. I know of a safe room there." "W-wait a minute!" China called out. "What about this, then?!" He took the red-stained clothes he was holding and showed it to Japan. "What's with these clothes of yours?! They're covered in blood!" "Oh. Those are the clothes that I threw into the fireplace. Why do you have them?" Japan answered innocently. "I found them when I went to that room! Aren't you... hurt...?" China asked. "Um, that's... tomato." Japan corrected him. "... Huh?" "I'm fine; I'm not hurt at all. Now, let's join Germany and Italy and I'll explain the situation to you." China continued to stare with a dumbstruck expression.

Japan went to the second floor and into the room with the iron door. There, he found Italy standing, as if expecting their arrival. Italy seems surprised to see some of the Allies, but were nonetheless happy. "What? So everyone is here! Let's go back to the fireplace room, then!" "Yes. Some are missing, but we'll have an emergency meeting now." Japan announced. "Germany, if you're ready, let's go. They can't wait." "Understood," came a muffled voice from beyond the iron door. Germany exited and joined with the others. "Sorry for making you wait." Germany apologized. "Ve~ Are you okay now? Do you want to go in there again?" Italy asked. "No, it's okay. And I probably won't come back here. Or rather, I hope I won't," Germany said. "Really? I hope so. Now, let's hurry up. We can't take our time here. We need to talk to them as soon as possible." Japan said urgently. "You haven't found my brother, have you...?" Germany asked with hopefulness in his voice. "... No." Japan said bluntly. Italy came to Germany's rescue. "I-it'll be okay! Cheer up, Germany! If you're like that, we'll never find Prussia!" "You're right. Sorry." Germany straightened up with a stoic expression. "Come on, they're waiting for us." Japan said.

Japan walked to the fireplace room. However, he didn't enter. "I have the feeling we missed something.. I'll check around again," he decided. He went up to the fourth floor and looked around again. He found a piece of paper in a crate. He took it and tucked it into his pocket, before continuing on his way to the fireplace room.

"Sorry for making you wait. Now, without further ado, I'll explain our situation." Japan said. Germany prodded the fireplace to make sure the fire was kept alight while Italy watched the meeting from a distance near the bookshelves. China, England, Canada, and Russia were listening intently to Japan's explanation. "First, as you know, I received a message from China saying that you had arrived here, and Italy thought it would be interesting and wanted to come as well. So Germany, Italy, Prussia, and I came here. First, I went to take a look around, but in the meantime, that monster you saw before appeared and attacked them." "W-were you alright after that?" England asked. "Yes, somehow. For better or worse, it seemed to be targeting me, and I'm good at running away, so I got to escape." Italy responded. "You got away?! That's amazing..." China said with awe. Italy blushed and went to join Germany at the fireplace. "Eventually, while we didn't know the true nature of that thing, we all got together again and spent the night in this room, ith a sense of security because we had the key to it," Japan continued. "The night..." Russia murmured. "Th-that really is odd... I mean, we-" Canada began, but caught himself. "Oh, I'm sorry. Please, go on." "We've run out of firewood. Can I burn this wooden box?" Italy interrupted. "Yes, let's burn anything that can be used as fuel," Germany replied. "We decided that one of us should keep watch and Prussia kindly took up this duty, but maybe because of our sense of security, the three of us fell into a deep sleep... When we woke up... Prussia was gone. There were bloodstains in the hallway, so I followed the trail, but... eventually..." "The trail ended..." Russia guessed. "We tried looking for him, but we didn't want to lose anybody else, so Germany and I stood by. And then, Japan found you guys, right?" Italy asked. "Yes. And that's what happened to us. But... I thought for sure that America and France would be here too?" Japan questioned. "Yeah, the six of us came here on America's suggestion and split up into two groups," England answered. "China, France, and I went to check out the second floor, while America, Russia, and Canada looked around the first floor." "We had a bad feeling while we were on the second floor, so Opium and I went to check out the third and the fourth floor," China joined in. "When we finished looking and came down to the second floor, France was gone and I found Japan's burnt clothes in this room, and I wondered what had happened." "We came back to the first floor and found Russia and Canada fighting that Thing. That bastard disappeared the first chance he got," England said with bitterness. "Really? Um, I vaguely noticed it when I was fighting it, but that strange creature..." Japan said hesitantly. "It resembles a friend of America's, doesn't it?" Germany asked for Japan. "That's right! I noticed it the moment I saw it! That's definitely it! Um... its name was..." China tried to recall. "To... Tommy? Wasn't it?" Germany said. "Yeah, that was definitely its name," England confirmed. "They look identical. Don't you think this was America's doing? He's the one who heard the rumor about this place and asked us to come here, after all." "I see! So this is just a prank of America's that got too far! Well, in that case, there's nothing else to say! Let's just look for America!" Italy piped in. Canada remained deadly serious. "You're mistaken." England looked at Canada. "Huh?"

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AAANNDD that's finally the end of chapter 4! I know this is going to be pretty long to put each chapter up, so the question is...

Does anyone want me to put the endings up already?

I'll still add in the chapters, of course, but considering I've been kind of busy, they'll be delayed. Probably a lot. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this, review if you like or any suggestions about anything, and your opinion about the endings/chapter matter! I can't wait for the next chapter, I can finally stop calling it "The Thing" and just call it Steve. Much easier. Have a nice day, eh?

(P.S. I just started working on the "Good Ending" during my trip to Las Vegas a few days ago. To be honest, I've never thought of it this way before, but when I read it over, it makes quite a bit of sense! Involves new characters in it x3)

(P.S.S. "Bad Ending" will probably horrible. It's like a straight off 'Game Over' thing. And I will start with Romano and Spain. I'm sorry D:)


	5. Chapter V: THree PaTHs

A/N: Here's Chapter 5! Now its a rush to defeat the Thing, do some more exploring, and figure out a new riddle of the mansion!

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**Chapter V: THree PaTHs.**

Everyone sat in silence, watching Canada. "... That's not Tony," he said. "When we were talking about going through the first floor, that Thing appeared too," Russia explained. "But the moment I saw it, I realized it was that friend that America had introduced to us before." "Y-yes. Are we mistaken? We concluded that it was America's friend and felt more at ease in our search..." Japan said. Canada shook his head. "I live close to America and I've met Tony several times. I suppose they do look alike. But even so... he would never attack America." "Attack- What? It attacked him?!" China exclaimed, standing up and knocking his chair over in shock. Germany decided to join the other nations' discussion at the table. "It was only one hit. America was thrown against the all, but he was still conscious somehow and began shooting at it. It had no effect at all, though... We thought it was America's friend at first, but when it suddenly attacked America and America seemed to fight back for real... We realized that we were probably wrong," Canada continued. England's expression came to an understanding. "So that's why we heard shooting!" "We had no idea what to do. He was getting cornered, and when we tried to do something about it, he yelled at us to get away," Russia said, scratching his head and shrugged. "I think he... wanted to handle it on his own. But it was too strong even for the three of us, so we decided to get it away from him," Canada sighed. "I couldn't fight it though... I lowered my guard for one moment and was knocked out. When I came to, both that creature and America were... gone." He turned to Russia. "I-I'm sorry Russia, for all the trouble I gave you..." Russia gave a wide and cheerful smile. "No, you weren't a burden at all! It's pretty hard to fight while you protect someone~ But if you want to thank me, why don't you become one with Russia? Ufu~." No one decided to respond to it. "... Anyway, we wanted to help him, but we didn't know where he'd gone," Russia said. "We decided we might as well start looking in the kitchen, and then the Thing appeared again and China joined us. In other words, three people are missing. I think we should help them as soon as possible. America has nothing to do with it, so we can't feel safe. Rather, we should expect the worst."

"Oh!" Italy suddenly exclaimed. Germany turned around to look at Italy at the fireplace. "What's wrong?" "There's something inside the burnt wooden box!" Italy said excitedly. "Just a second. Um.." "Be careful." Germany simply said. "Uh-huh," Italy responded. He tried to take out the item out of the box, but the fire nearly burnt Italy's hands, causing him to drop it. "Oops- Ow, hot!" Italy waved the fire away and left the wooden box in the fireplace while kneeling down to retrieve the item from the floor. "It's a key. It's a key to some room!" Italy announced. "We got a new breach!" China said with a determined expression. "Finding a way out was our priority, but first we have to think of a way to rescue our friends. If we are thorough in our search, I'm sure we'll find them," Japan said reassuringly. "Those three are also tenacious people. They've got to be somewhere..." "Friends, huh...?" Russia thought for a moment. "Sounds interesting. I was caught by surprise before, but next time I meet the Thing, I'll have a lot to thank it for." Russia made one of his infamous creepy smiles, which caused all the nations to shudder slightly. "Speaking of which," Canada started. "Since it's similar to Tony, shouldn't we give it a name instead of calling it the Thing all the time?" "... It would certainly be a lot easier.." Japan agreed. "Then what the heck do we call it? Tommy?" Germany suggested. "How about Steve?" Canada said, not liking the name Tommy. England gave an irritated and impatient sigh. "Let's hurry. I don't want anyone dropping out." "Steve it is, then." China confirmed. "Well, then, we'll split into three groups, since we have so much to do. And no one can go alone. Each group should have at least two people," Japan explained. "Yeah, there are too many rooms. There are rooms we can open with a key, rooms we can't open, and rooms that we haven't checked out yet," Italy said. "Yes. Now, about our unsynchronized watches.." Japan glanced at everyone's watches. A huge rumble sounded from outside, and made a large bang on the door. "Eek! J... Japan!" Italy screamed. "... So, it found us after all. This room is no longer safe." Japan said calmly. "Was it ever off-limits?" England made a furious expression. "Shit! What are we going to do?!" "My group will be in charge of dealing with Steve. Germany, Italy, you will search for the room to open with that key," Japan ordered. "Then I'll fight with Japan!" China shouted. "Can I join you? I really have to thank it for all the trouble~" Russia joined in. "There's a room that I want to investigate with Canada, so that's where we're heading. Italy, if you make any progress, come to the room with the piano," England said. "Okay!" Italy answered. "B-be careful, Japan." "Thank you," Japan responded. Steve finally smashed the door open and crept up behind Japan. "Well then everyone..." Japan said quietly. "Good luck." Japan whipped around and smashed Steve into the wall. "Now!" he shouted, and everyone jumped into action.

**_Japan, Russia, and China_**

"Everyone has escaped," China confirmed. "Yes, everyone except us," Japan replied. "It's not often the three of us get to do something together~ This is going to be kinda fun!" Russia said cheerfully, oblivious to the danger before them. Steve recovered and started to advance on them. "I wish we would work together a little more harmoniously." Japan said wistfully. "If you want the three of us to be all chummy and smiley, I have a sinking feeling..." China responded with sarcasm. "I suppose you are right," Japan sighed. "A union like this would be more fitting." "Japan, can't you just beat Steve with that amazing technique you used before?" Russia asked. Steve was still advancing on them slowly. "Oh. Well, you see, when I was under the impression that this was America's doing, I got a little exasperated at him. It was the last straw, and that was the result," Japan answered nervously. "Now that I know what is going on, I can no longer do it. My anger has completely faded away," he finished with an embarrassed small smile. China suddenly got an idea. "When we go home, I'll treat you to your favorite Chinese dish. Until then, do your best!" Japan perked up at the mention of China's food. "Oh! I look forward to it. Well then, that will certainly motivate me to escape." "I want to eat it too~" Russia piped in. "If we can get out of here alive, can I drop by your house? You won't mind, will you?" Russia asked with a hopeful and innocent expression. China pursed his lips. "If we can get out of here alive, I'll think about it." By now, Steve was already upon them. "... Let's go!" Japan said.

The three nations parted ways on three sides, Japan to Steve's right and China to Steve's left while Russia confronted Steve. Russia used his sword cane to strike Steve like a baseball bat, stunning it momentarily. "Eight Extremities Fist!" China yelled, and jumped to punch Steve several times in the face at lightning speed. Japan chanted a curse at Steve, weakening him slightly. Russia shouted "Kolkhoze!" and suddenly giant ice the size of icebergs appeared and exploded on Steve. However, despite the three nations' efforts, Steve was barely damaged, and attempted to charge into Russia. Russia managed to block in time, sliding across the floor. Steve also tried to bind and restrict Japan from moving, but Japan managed to get away in time. "YoU... WOn't... ESc... aPe..." Steve said, and went after Japan. Russia growled at it, trying to get it away from Japan. "I'm not done with you yet! Kolkhoze!" Russia summoned more icebergs and exploded them on Steve, and managed to accomplish in angering him. Steve turned around quickly and smacked Russia to the ground. China spun his naginata and attempted to cut his neck but only managed to scratch it a little. Russia got up and charged into Steve wildly, tackling it to the floor. Japan gave a finishing strike of his katana by stabbing it in the face. It suddenly disappeared, leaving 100 HETAs and an onigiri on the floor in front of Russia.

"We won't lose a second time!" China panted. "But it's weird that it disappears like that... We can't tell whether we won or not." Japan shrugged. "Well, at least it won't pollute the environment." "Not quite~ Maybe this will never end and it'll keep reappearing. It's getting really tiring..." Russia picked up the HETAs and the onigiri and got up to put them in the drawers at the far side of the room. China walked up to Japan. "You're not hurt, are you?" "No, your backup was perfect. Our opponent has also grown stronger compared with before. I would have no chances had I fought alone. Thank you very much for your help," Japan responded. "Oh! By the way, why were those clothes smeared with tomato?! I thought it was blood!" China exclaimed, suddenly remembering the old burnt clothes. "Well, you see, some time after I woke up this morning, we encountered that creature yet again... Italy had just been waking up and was quite surprised; he began yelling at it to get away and throwing at it to make it go away, but they ended up hitting me in the back instead. After we defeated it, the smell was really bothering me, so I threw it into the fireplace," Japan explained to clear away the confusion. "Oh, if I remember correctly, you had a change of clothes because you were staying at Germany's meeting, right?" China asked. A crash of broken glass sounded. "Ah." Russia suddenly said. Japan turned to look at Russia. "What is the matter, Russia?" "Um, there was this clock that was moving like crazy..." Russia answered. "I'm sorry. The tick-tock was too loud, so I broke it with my pipe." "A clock?" Japan tilted his head slightly and came to take a closer look. "I'm sorry if it was some kind of clue, but it really was so loud..." Russia explained apologetically. "A clock..." Japan murmured thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, we can't tell what time it is in this place. Our watches are all out of synchrony." "They're really strange. Even though we came here ahead of Japan's group, they've been here longer. By the way... it's 11:42 on my watch," China mentioned. Russia made a confused expression. "Huh? But mine is showing the same time as yours, China." Japan frowned. "What? That wasn't supposed to..." Japan looked at his watch. "Oh! I-It's 11:42 on mine too! But it was 6:00 just a moment ago..." "Do you think maybe it's because I broke the clock?" Russia asked. "That's possible," China answered. "At least in this room the time is right. Maybe we can get the flow of time back to normal if we break the clocks." "Then we'll break the clocks in every single room we get in," Japan decided. "If we do that, maybe...maybe... we can help... France and... America... Right?" The three nations glanced at each other, puzzled. A phone suddenly rang into the silent atmosphere. "Russia, it's your cell phone," China said. Russia smiled brightfully, "Amazing~ As soon as the time got right, the phone also began to work-" he took his phone out of his pocket, "Or not. The antenna isn't up." His expression fell into confusion once again. "Anyway, I'm going to answer it. And I'll make it so that the both of you can hear it too." Russia answered the call and put it on speaker. "... Who is it?" A strange note was played and then the phone call immediately ended. "... Looks like it got cut off." "It's a bug!" China exclaimed. "I've never heard of a 'phone bug'... What we just heard was a piano," Japan said. "A piano... Anyway, we have nothing else to do here, so let's go back to England," Russia suggested. "Indeed. If all goes well, Germany and Italy should also be able to join us there. Let's put everything in order here and hurry," Japan said urgently. After finishing cleaning up, they gathered their necessary items and set off for the piano room.

_**Germany and Italy**_

Germany and Italy were on the third floor, looking for a room that the key can unlock. "That guy was a little bigger than before, don't you think? Maybe we really should go back to help them..." Italy said in a worried tone. Germany shook his head firmly. "No, first we must accomplish the mission that was given to us. Japan can take care of himself. We have to fully understand this house so that we can also lighten his burden." "Ve. Alright. Besides, we we run into Steve, I'd rather run away," Italy said and shuddered. Germany made a slightly annoyed expression. "Duly noted. Anyway, let's search these rooms once more and then... hum... report to England." Italy brightened up. "Okay! Let's do our best, Germany." All the rooms on the third floor was opened, so they went back down to the second floor. Italy tried to fit the key in every locked door, but none of them worked. They checked another room on the first floor near the bathrooms as well. "The key isn't for this room," Italy said. "Well, there was one more locked room - a kind of Japanese-style room. Let's try that one," Germany suggested. "Okay." Italy backtracked quickly to the foot of the stairs and turned left into the dojo room. Italy made an automatic right turn as soon as they saw the dojo, and tried to fit the key in the lock. "It worked!" Italy said excitedly. He opened the door for Germany to go through.

As they went inside, there was some more Japanese styled doors at the far side to the left and another wooden door straight ahead at the end of the hallway. Germany and Italy wandered to the Japanese doors, when Steve suddenly popped out and tried to grab them. Italy gasped in shock and took Germany's hand and ran away before Germany knew what was going on. They immediately ran out of the dojo room and into the lobby again.

"Hey! Look! The door is open!" Germany yelled, noticing the opened main door. "..." Italy stared at the outside. "Why are you waiting? We can escape!" Germany yelled excitedly. "But..." Italy looked at Germany with hopelessness. "What?" Germany gave a confused look at Italy. Italy stood quietly for a moment longer, allowing the wind to close the door shut once more. "The wind closed the door..." Germany said. He tried to open the door, but it won't open.

They ran away to the kitchen, finally managing to evade Steve. Germany found a door that was open up ahead, and went to explore in there. He checked the bookshelves for any clues, and Italy moved a crate to the side to reveal a golden safe. "It's a safe!" Italy exclaimed. "Oh, but it's locked." Italy made a disappointed expression after trying to open it. "If it wasn't, there wouldn't be any point to it," Germany said, sighing. "It looks like a four-digit numeric combination... We still have insufficient information. Let's investigate a little more." "Too bad~" Italy said carefreely, and left the safe to go out the room, with Germany following.

They ended up walking back to the dojo room again, hoping to find any clues to the safe. Italy checked around the Japanese doors carefully, and found a piece of paper. "Hmm~ Another piece of paper," Italy said. "It's similar to the piece we found earlier," Germany noted. "Here, let me take a look." Italy handed the paper to Germany, who examined it. "... It looks like the cross-section view of pasta or something like that!" Italy said energetically. "Why...?" Germany became exasperated. Italy gave a perfectly innocent look. "You think it's something else?" He looked back at the paper again. "Well, it doesn't either. I wonder what it is..." A loud phone ring sounded abruptly, interrupting their thought processes. "Moaargh!" Germany screamed and back away with a terrified expression. After hearing Germany's scream, Italy jumped and backed away from Germany too. "Hiiii! Don't scare me like that, Germany!" Italy kept his hand of his heart, trying to calm himself. Germany unfroze and came to his senses. "S-sorry. That sound - Isn't it your cell phone?" he asked. "Eh? Oh, y-you're right. Why? Our phones get no signal here!" Italy exclaimed in disbelief. "How am I supposed to know?!" Germany grunted. "Anyway, try answering it." "Ve... It's a number-withheld call..." Italy said. He picked it up and answered it. "C...Ciao..." A note was played, and was immediately cut off. Italy stood their frozen in confusion. "... Uh?" "What's wrong?" Germany asked as he came over to Italy. "I'm not sure. I heard a sound and then the call was cut off," Italy explained. "A sound?" "The sound of a piano," Italy continued. "It was only one note, though. I wonder what that was all about?" "The sound of a piano? Hm..." Germany was deep in thought. "We have this piece of paper now, so let's go back to England. Japan and the others will probably join us there if all goes well, too." "Yeah. Let's go back to the piano room, then," Italy agreed. Germany gave the piece of paper back to Italy, who carefully tucked the piece of paper into his pockets and walked to the piano room together.

_**England and Canada**_

England and Canada stood in front of the piano. "Okay, we'll examine this room before the others get here," England said. "Alright. Um, first, this piano..." Canada started. He showed England the keys of the piano, which contains random badly written numbers in different colors. "It has these numbers, you see?" "I'm not sure what they're supposed to mean. Was there something we needed numbers for?" England asked. "No," Canada answered bluntly. England frowned at the answer. "Hmm..." he walked towards the drawers against the wall. "Numbers... they must be a code for something. Something that uses numbers..." Canada mumbled to himself. "Numbers... puzzles... Security too. So, security breach... but this house isn't that high-tech, so... a safe, or something..." "Hey!" England called out. Canada looked up, and saw England walking towards him. "The books in this room are nothing special, so wait here while I go to the room next door. There were a lot of books there, so I'll leaf through them." "Oh, okay. Just be careful," Canada answered absentmindedly. England walked away to the library room, and shut the door behind him. "Um... What was I thinking about again? I forgot it when I talked to England..." Canada paced around to the other side of the piano. "First, the piano." Canada sighed tiredly. "God, America is always getting us into trouble. Why can't he be a little more considerate? I mean-" The door opened and shut from behind him. "Oh, is that you, England? I'm sorry; I haven't looked here yet," Canada rambled on, not facing in the direction of the intruder. "Also! We were told not to do anything alone, remember? I'm coming with you this time." Canada turned around to find the intruder standing before him. "Whoa!" Canada made a horrified expression as he faced Steve.

'Wh-wha-wha-wha-what-' Canada thought frantically for a solution to get out of his situation. As he gazed at Steve a while longer, however, he noticed that Steve wasn't even looking at him, and may have even looked _through_ him. 'Wh-wh-why did this have to happen just when I'm all alone?!' Canada thought despairingly. 'Maybe the others were all killed? No, I can't think like that.' Canada made a determined face. 'Wh-wh-wh-what am I going to do?' Steve was now roaming around freely in the room, seeming to search for something. Canada stood still, staring at Steve intensely. 'H-Huh? Is it even... seeing... me?' Canada looked at Steve for a few more seconds, realizing that Steve indeed did not see him. 'I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano...' Canada repeated the phrase over and over again in his head, which caused him to be hypnotized. "I... Eh... This... Dis.. I... Azz..." Canada slurred and fainted.

"I... I can't see anything... Anything but the dark..." A voice came from above. "Hey, Canada!" Canada felt a stinging pain on the side of his cheek. "Wake up, you bloody wanker!" Canada slowly opened his eyes to see a blurry England above him. "Open your eyes!" "Egh... Ha... uh?" Canada looked dizzily at him. "... Wh.. Whaz'happened?" "I don't know!" England growled. "I came back and you were lying on the floor, near the piano, with maple syrup." "Ah... I..." Canada sat up and looked around. "You scared me!" England went on. "Did something happen?!" "Ah... Hem... No... I can't remember very well but... Since the flow of time is strange, you didn't run into it..." Canada babbled. England raised an eyebrow at him. "Run into... what?" Canada held his head in pain. "Aouch... My head hurts... I... I don't think that creature will be coming to this room for a while... That's all I'm going to say." England gave a confused and concerned glance at Canada, but said nothing.

The three groups survived successfully, and met in the piano room. "- and by breaking the clocks, we adjust the time.. so it is imperative that we do this." Japan finished explaining. "We have broken the clocks on the second and first floor. Now, only this floor and the one above are left." "We found this weird scrap of paper," Italy said. "And then we found a safe inside a room in the kitchen. Canada looked at Italy. "A safe? Maybe the numbers on the keyboard... could be some kind of hint?" "Yeah, then we can open the safe and make some progress. So, first of all... shouldn't we take a look at the scrap of paper that Italy found?" Russia said. Italy took out his piece of paper while Japan produced the other half. "Yeah, they're a perfect match. Try sticking them together," England suggested. When Italy came over to Japan to try to match the piece of paper, the phone rang loudly. "Argh!" England twitched. "S... sorry, it's my cell phone." "Again? Russia's also rang earlier," China said. "Same here! We heard a piano!" Italy exclaimed. "A piano?" England frowned. "Well, anyway, I'll answer it." England picked up the phone right away and put it on speaker. Before anyone could say anything, a note was played and was cut off immediately again. "It really was a piano. But it was a different note from the one that Russia heard," Japan observed. "Italy, did you also hear a different note?" "Yeah, it was different," Italy confirmed. "Only one note. That's the only thing in common," England said. He put his cell phone back into his pocket. "But there is no doubt that they're a big hint. We should all solve this one by one." "Yes. If we do that, we'll soon be able to meet America and France. Though they'll probably get mad at us for taking so long," Japan commented. "Eh? What?" Italy looked at Japan with bewilderment. England looked utterly confused. "Huh? What are you talking about?" "Er, what..." Japan frowned at the nations' sudden reactions. "Did I say something wrong?" "... Russia." China said quietly. "Yes. I know, it's okay." he responded. "Ex... cuse me?" Japan looked around him, feeling completely lost. "You said 'something wrong'... was it on purpose? Not that I care to correct you, but... poor Prussia." England muttered. "Yeah, why did you say France and America, Japan?" Italy prompted. "The ones we have to save are Prussia and France, right? Why did you say America?" "What?!" Canada exclaimed, looking shocked at Italy. England gave a complete 'what-is-everyone-going-on-about-here' face. "C-come on, now, what's wrong with you? We're here to save America, aren't we? Neither France nor Prussia came to this place." Russia merely stood silently as he watched the nations solve this strange sudden mass amnesia. "Only... America? No, wait a minute. We-Well, America said at the meeting place that he wanted to come..." Japan tried to remember. "And I said... I'd come with him.. so I came here with America..." Japan finished hesitantly. "Wait- Japan, what's wrong with you? The three of us came here with Prussia, remember?" Italy said with a concerned expression. "America didn't come, and France got separated from Russia and the others..." Italy went on, but noticed a few nations shaking their heads. China sighed loudly. "You guys..." "Wait! Wasn't America the only one who disappeared? Why do you keep bringing those two up?" England butted in. "What on Earth is going on...?" Japan said quietly into the still air, as all the nations look at one another in an entirely chaotic confusion.

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A/N: Dun dun dun! Whats wrong with the nations?! They'll sort it all out on the next chapter! Hope you enjoy, ciao~!


	6. Chapter VI: PAssWord

A/N: So, here is chapter 6. Now we'll see what happen to the nations and why they don't remember, and more plot twists at the end.

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**Chapter VI: PAssWord.**

Japan looked among the bickering nations. Everyone was arguing or hesitantly voicing what they thought was right. He backed away from the group, trying to sort out his mind. Japan went to talk to China. China looked at him quizzically. "Do you remember fighting with me and Russia?" "I am not that forgetful yet, you know," Japan replied. "You two are so old~" Russia chuckled teasingly. China ignored him, and continued to talk to Japan. "You failed to mention Prussia at that time, too. I thought you had simply forgotten, but you've been acting odd since then." Japan thought about it for a moment. He wasn't sure if he acted strange or not, but everyone else seemed to. He tried to ask Russia for his opinion, but Russia was less approachable. "Do you mind? We're having a meeting, so can you go over there?" Japan decided to talk to England next. "Huh? I came here with you, didn't I?" Japan thought and shook his head slowly. That wasn't right. "What on Earth is wrong with you guys?" Canada tried to talk among the loud arguments. Japan approached Italy next, who looks scared and confused. "A-am I wrong? But you came here with us, didn't you?" Japan frowned at Italy's answer, and moved on to talk to Germany next. "... Maybe correcting time caused some sort of disturbance?" Germany suggested.

After hearing Germany's answer, he realized he may be right. 'Maybe.. we must break the clock in this room to remember correctly?' Japan went to the far left corner of the room and stopped in front of a tall series of drawers. "Following the pattern so far, it should be here..." He stepped on the handles for elevation and saw a clock ticking madly away. "Ah, I knew it would be here. This is still worrying me. I think I should break it as soon as possible." He smashed the clock with his sword by thrusting into it, shattering the clock into pieces. "There. One more..."

Japan became dizzy as he saw orange light cloud his vision. Suddenly, he was back in front of the mansion entrance with America and England. "Here! It's here! Just like the rumors said!" America said excitedly, jumping up and down. "Hey, America, keep it down a little, will you?" England said, annoyed. America stopped jumping and pouted. "I'm not doing anything wrong! Right, Japan?!" 'Yes, yes, that's right! It really was America and England who came here with me,' Japan thought as he reviewed his memory. 'We said that, and then we came in... and then-' Before Japan finished his thought, another memory replaced it.

"Is this it? Are West and Italy really in this place?" Prussia asked. "Haa... Indeed," memory Japan confirmed. Prussia quirked an eyebrow at him. "... You're thinking, 'This sucks', aren't you?" he asked accusingly. Japan, taken aback, tried to deny. "I-I'm not!" 'No, that's not it. The one who came here with me was... Prussia! We decided to come and pick Italy and Germany up, so...' Japan looked at the new memory a little longer. '... No. This isn't it. This memory is wrong...' As if on cue, another memory replaced the previous one.

"So, this is the haunted mansion that America told us about?" memory France asked. "That's right! Let's hide before they get here and give them a fright!" China said, smiling evilly at his own plan. Japan sweated at China's childishness. "China... even if they didn't do the same to get back at you... and even if it weren't this mansion... you should be a little more reasonable..." China simply ignored him. "It's now or never! You guys, get ready! He's coming this way with Italy!" China jumped into a nearby bush. "Pff... Wouldn't it be nicer if we just made something to eat together?" France suggested. "Definitely..." Japan sighed. 'This one is wrong too... No, maybe it isn't wrong, but..' Japan tried to remember his correct memory. 'No, it's wrong. This isn't what happened.' Another memory replaced it.

"It clearly looks like something is about to come out of it, though..." memory Japan said while examining the mansion entrance. "That's true~" Russia said. "Are they really in this place?" "You go ahead and get in, Russia. Me and Japan are just gonna chill here and wait for you," Prussia said, standing a little way off from the rest of the group. "Aww, you're so mean! Come on, if the three of us go, I'm sure we can give the others a scare!" Russia said. "Erm, aren't you gorgetting someone?" Canada asked quietly. Japan glanced at Canada quickly. "Prussia, Russia, please feel free to go ahead. Canada and I will be waiting here while we have some tea." 'And then Germany got quite a scare... But Germany came with England and-' Japan snapped out. 'No, this is wrong too. This isn't me...' Another memory replaced the previous one.

"Ve~ It's really here~" memory Italy said. "I thought it was just a rumor... I never thought we would actually find it..." Japan commented. "It has such a desolate feel... Not bad," Prussia smirked. 'Oh... This memory...' Japan realized, and chose it to be his correct memory.

Japan finally came back to the present, and turned back to see the nations, discussing about something. "... I think I'll go back to the others." Japan joined their conversation. "That's why I'm saying that this piece of paper might be a hint to some kind of hidden passage!" Germany argued. "Um, what? Now your priority is deciphering that password?" Japan asked, lost. "Pretty much~ It looks like everyone decided that the other problem was too difficult and that we should first solve this, open the safe and find out what's inside..." Russia answered. "And then give it some careful thought." China frowned. "Wait. Then someone's phone should have rung one more time. Shouldn't we wait for it-" England cut in immediately. "How can our phones even get calls if we're out of range? Besides, we don't even know who has been calling us. Should we blindly trust the hints they give us?" "I'm getting a little hungry..." Italy complained. Germany shot a glare at Italy. "Why are you looking at me like that for? Toughen up. Be strong." The final phone ring sounded in the air. "... There it is," Canada said. "Germany, if you would please." "Y-yes, understood. I'll answer it now." Germany picked up the phone and put it on speaker for everyone to hear. Another piano note was sounded, and then the call ended. "... It was a piano, after all," Japan said. "Yep," Russia confirmed. "Now, let's put the notes we heard together."

Japan approached Italy, and asked for his note first. Italy dozed off, having a distant look on his face. "Italy?" Japan waved his hand in front of Italy's face. Italy snapped back in to reality. "Oh, sorry Japan. The note I got was 'La'." Japan approached Germany next. "The note we just heard was 'Si'," he confirmed. Japan asked Russia next. "The note I heard? It was..." Russia concentrated and tried to remember. "'Sol'." Japan walked up to England next. Before he can even ask though, England already answered. "The note I got was 'Re'." Japan went back to his spot, and shared his gathered information with everyone. "So, the notes we heard were 'Si', 'Re', 'Sol', and 'La'," England confirmed. "Let's take a look at the keyboard!" Italy said excitedly, and rush over to the piano with others walking behind him. "Hmm..." Russia hummed thoughtfully. "Canada stared at the keys of different colored numbers for a while. "... Oh! I've got it! I think I know how to solve this!" The nations made room for Canada as he came over to explain. "It's a very simple password. You see, first, the notes that played were these four." Canada pressed the G, B, E, and F key with the colored numbers of blue 4, red 2, yellow 5, and green 9. "You're right. There are even these numbers on the keys," Japan noticed. "So, it's 4269?" England asked. "No, not yet," Canada said. "Now, when you look at the piece of paper that Japan and Italy found..." Canada took the two pieces of paper and pieced them together, showing 4 rectangles in the color order of yellow, red, green, and blue. "... it's like this," Canada finished. "It matches the colors of the numbers on the keyboard. If we match the numbers with their respective colors..." Canada quickly scribbled the numbers in, showing 5294 now. "See? A perfect match." "I see. Amazing!" China said in awe. "Well when you put it that way, it is rather simple. Well, then, let's head to that safe," Germany concluded. Japan nodded, "Yes." All the nations left for the safe room, except Italy, who stayed behind staring at them. Italy slowly walked past the piano quietly, brushing across the keyboard of the piano with his hand lightly. "Haa... They solved it, after all.." He scratched his head a little, somewhat touching his curl. "Odd. I thought I'd done everything right, but it was no use after all...I guess I really shouldn't have given them a hint." Italy glanced at the keyboard. "But... No, nevermind. I'm sure this is the right thing to do. I'm not making a mistake, right? Right." Italy smiled to himself. "Yep. I'm not making a mistake at all!" Italy's smile faltered into a wondering expression. "But I wonder if Japan will get mad at me..." Italy's smile appeared once more. "Ahaha. Germany definitely will... He won't want to be my friend anymore!" He looked towards the exit with bitter determination. "We're almost there..."

The Italy, Germany, and Japan walked down the stairs past second and to the first floor, and headed for the kitchen where the safe room lies. Japan entered the passcode for the safe. "It's open!" he said after hearing a click in the mechanism. He took a key from the safe box. "Let's find the room for the key!" Italy said cheerfully. Japan nodded and searched the mansion for locked doors. Finally, he found the room in the Japanese dojo room. The Germany and Italy spread out in the study room. It was a fairly large space, with only a bookcase in a corner and a medium sized table with a single chair on the other. Japan searched around the table, and eventually found a switch. He pressed it, which startled Germany who was near the bookcase. The bookcase had moved. The Axis gathered at the door and entered it. They found a strange jail cell, and a key that lies at the other side. When they were all inside the room, Japan locked the door immediately. He walked to where Germany was examining the key on the other side. Italy lingered for a moment longer glancing at Japan, before joining Germany. Japan came over and picked up the key. "Haa... more rooms to unlock," he sighed. The three nations exited the room, when they saw Steve waiting for them to their left. "RUN!" Germany yelled, and they all ran away. They ran to the main lobby, and Japan made a sharp turn to the right to the locked door near the bathroom. All of a sudden, Japan remembered something. "Before I open it, I have to look for the clocks and break them. I'll have to go back to that room. The others must have found it by now," Japan told himself. "J-Japan.. it's coming!" Italy cried fearfully. Japan ran towards Steve and dodged him, successful in running past him and managed to lose it in the process as well. They returned to the previous room where they found the Allies gathering in a circle. China noticed the Axis walking in. "Oh, you're back. Are you okay? Sorry you had to go through that," he said apologetically. "No, on the contrary, I'm the one who should apologize for asking you to deal with this. I actually managed to escape easily," Japan said politely. "I wish it had been me instead, though... But you're really fast too, Japan~" Italy praised. "You did very well," Canada agreed. "And we found the clock!" "The key we found leads to the basement, right?" Russia asked. "Well, before we go though, we have to settle the memory confusion." Germany stepped forward and took charge. "Each one of you have three minutes. If you have something to say, raise your hand." England hesitantly raised his hand. "Er, can I go first, then?" When everyone paid attention, he went on. "I don't think it's just me, but... didn't you notice anything when you broke the clocks?" China looked at the floor thoughtfully, then back at England. "You noticed it too? Then it wasn't just my imagination." Russia tilted his head at them. "You mean we all get false memories whenever we break a clock?" Germany was shocked at their sudden conclusion. "R-Really?" Italy remained silent. "When we broke the clock in the piano room, I got memories of coming here with Japan and the others. But..." China faltered. "Yeah. Our memories are all tangled, but first, let's try to remember how we started." Russia suggested. The nations nodded in agreement.

"It all started at the world meeting," England said. "We were all gathered in a single place, including those who are missing now." "Right. There is no doubt that this was where we started," Japan confirmed. "So, America had heard rumors about this mansion and said he wanted to come to see what it was like." Canada picked it up from there. "The meeting had ended and we had nothing better to do, so I came with America, China, Russia, France, and England..." China continued, "We also invited Japan, but he didn't come. That's why I sent him a message right before I came into the mansion." "When he saw that message, Italy began to say that he wanted to come too, and the three of us headed here, along with my brother," Germany said. "... Yeah." Italy said quietly. "But I also have different memories," England said, bringing in the problematic matter. "I remember coming with America and Japan, and it was China who got separated from us, not France." "Maybe we're getting confused because there are several mixed memories?" Italy suggested. "We don't know which one is right... and it makes us draw the wrong conclusions." "Ah, that's also an idea... When false memories get mixed in to hide the truth, we get confused and don't know what is what. And once you suspect something, everything else becomes suspicious," Russia said. Italy clapped his hands in delight. "Well, then, that means that from now on, whenever we break a clock, we'll get a lot of false memories, but we shouldn't believe any of them!" "If we invite confusion..." Japan murmured thoughtfully. "Right, I think we must discard those fake memories without believing them." China let out an annoyed sigh. "What a bother. Also, we have to be ready to get strange memories while we break the clocks," he reminded them. Germany nodded. "Right, If you can discard them without worrying about them, you should definitely do so. Anyway, I'm going to break this clock. If you get any strange memories, just forget about them right away. Don't forget whom you came with or how you came to be here now." England stuttered, "Y-Yeah, if we don't break it, time won't go back to normal. We have to break it as soon as possible." "Alright then..." Germany took a deep breath and smashed the clock with his gloved fist. The nations prepared to receive the false memories. "... Oh." Japan uttered, and was sent to the false memories.

"Prussia!" memory Japan exclaimed as he entered the room and headed over to the beds where Prussia was hiding. 'This is a memory from when I first reunited with Prussia, but... I feel as though I'm forgetting something.. Something is missing.' Japan hummed as he watched the scene unfold before him. "Hh! Who's there?!" Prussia whipped around brandishing his sword at Japan and almost hit him. "Woah! C-Calm down! It's me!" Japan said, managing to dodge the blade quickly. "Oh, it's you Japan?" Prussia scratched his head embarrassingly and sheathed his sword. "Ah... Sorry." 'Something... something is different.' Japan thought, but couldn't quite remember what he forgot. 'I reunited with Prussia and then we went to see Germany...' "What's the matter?" memory Japan asked. "Don't you hear the sound of... something... getting closer?" Prussia questioned. "... That's-" 'It came in?!' Japan watched in shock, then finally realized what was missing. 'I see... the lock...' "Watch out!" memory Prussia shouted. He jumped in front of Japan and attacked it. "Oh!" Japan was taken aback by the sudden attack. "Prussia!" memory Japan yelled. "Son of a-!" Prussia swung his sword at it again, but was wounded and thrown back at the same time. Steve disappeared after being defeated. "Prussia!" memory Japan looked at the bloodied Prussia with a horrified expression. "H-hold on! I'll stop the bleeding with some sheets!" "No, it's okay..." Prussia wheezed. "I'm a nation... I won't... die..." He chuckled, which only achieved in coughing up more blood. "Ah... but, I'm not... a nation anymore, am I? I told you that..." "S-stop it! I'll call Germany! Please, this isn't the time for jokes!" memory Japan said desperately. Prussia ignored Japan's pleading. "Are... West and... Ita... alright?" Japan paused for a moment, before answering. "... Yes. Both have left the mansion. We'll go home too. Germany and Italy are waiting for us." Prussia laughed. "Kesese! Yeah... We'll all go to your house... and go to.. the hot springs.." 'Because I... forgot to lock the door... Prussia had to...' Japan watched the scene of himself holding the dying Prussia in dismay. 'But... I... I did lock the door. And Prussia is alive... This memory.. it must be fake.' Japan concluded. 'I know which one is true. He wouldn't die in a place like this.'

The memory suddenly changed to a different scene, surprising Japan. "What's this room?!" "Damn it!" Memory Germany kicked the wall in frustration. "Even though the four of us got together, the situation hasn't gotten any better! We're still locked up in here and that fucking monster is still after our asses!" Japan watched the new strange scene unfold. "This wasn't supposed to have happened. What on Earth...?" "West, don't be so pessimistic," Prussia whined. "Someone will eventually notice that some nations are gone, even if it's only a few, and they'll come to help..." "We- We're being eaten one by one... That's what I would do, if I were the Thing!" Germany exclaimed in fear and hopelessness. Memory Italy watched the German brothers fight silently. "That's enough, West! There are still many other ways to get out of here!" Prussia rebuked. Germany paused, and shook his head. "Sorry.. I can't... think like that, but... I feel as though I'm in a battlefield. Though, if it were one, I could keep myself together and protect you... I want to change this." "You can't help it. You hate this kind of thing," memory Japan noted. Italy stood silent for a moment longer, and decided it was time. "... Germany." Germany looked at Italy. "Hum?" "It's okay; You will be okay," Italy tried to reassure him. "You'll be able to get out this time. And if you get out, run straight ahead. Don't look back, no matter what happens, and get time-" "Time? What is Italy talking about?" Japan asked to himself. Steve appeared out of the doorway behind Italy, alerting the other three nations. "Italy!" memory Japan and Prussia yelled at the same time. Italy remained calm, even smiling a bit."Promise me, Germany." 'Italy is going to...' "I...ta... lyyyy!" Germany roared.

Japan came back to reality, and saw the nations standing nearby with concerned faces. Italy was right in front of him, shaking him. "Japan?! Japan, are you okay?" Italy asked. "Italy!" Japan grabbed him firmly, but a static shock caused him to gasp and hold his head in pain. "Ow! Wh-what's the matter?" Italy held Japan steady. "Japan! Do you remember what we said about the clocks?!" Canada scolded. "Oh..." Japan pulled himself together and calmed down. "I-I'm sorry. I'm fine. I remember." "You get a lot more memories than the rest of us, and they are more intense too," China observed. England pushed through to see Japan better. "Are you alright? Do you need to rest a little?" "No, I'm sorry. I was just confused. You all.. see to be fine," Japan replied. "Nothing happened to me. To tell the truth, I haven't got any confusing memories or anything like that even once so far," Germany said. "I haven't been confused at all. ... Maybe I've just been exempted?" Canada smiled lightly. "Ahaha, I'm so jealous! In my case, it was so-so. I remembered running from Steve with Italy, and coming here with America..." Me too. But once I calmed down, I realized that was nonsense! And then I forgot about it right away!" China said. "When we go through it again, it's a feeling similar to waking up from a dream," England realized. "When we wake up, we have trouble separating dream from reality, but as soon as we calm down, our good judgement comes back. The first thing to do is calm down." "Um.." Japan looked at everyone cautiously. "Didn't you.. see any rooms other than the ones we've been in so far?" "Nope. I've gotten many memories, but they're all of rooms we've been in so far," Russia answered.

Italy tilted his head at Japan. "Did something happen to make you worry?" "... No." Japan decided it was nothing of importance. 'When we break the clocks, we get false memories that make us confused and less capable of discernment. There is no question about it. It's only because I'm confused...' He saw that the nations were watching him carefully. 'Yes, that has to be it.' "Okay, are your watches all right?" England asked. The nations checked their watches and nodded. "Good, then let's go to the basement." 'It's like seeing many movies and being shown many things that you end up not knowing what is real,' Japan mused. 'But if by any chance that room _does _exist, that means Italy will...' Japan unknowingly bit his lips with worry. Italy noticed Japan's behavior, and waved his hand in front of his face. "Japan?" "Italy," Japan answered. "Yeah? What's wrong?" Italy asked. "Are you..." Japan thought for a moment. 'How do I phrase this without raising suspicion?' "Are you hurt somewhere?" Japan asked. A strange emotion passed by Italy's expression but quickly disappeared. "... No, I'm not hurt at all," Italy answered typically. "... I see. I'm sorry for asking such a strange question." Italy walked past Japan and exited the room without a word. "I know this isn't really important, but I just wish I could rest somewhere without having to worry..." China complained. Canada nodded at the idea. "Indeed. I'm so fatigued, I just wish I could lie down for a bit." 'We have to be careful...' Japan thought. 'We thought we were being deceived by those memories, but... maybe...'

They could be...

... a message from someone?

* * *

A/N: And there goes chapter 6! Nations fixed their weird memory problems, and now it's down to the basement they go! Why is Italy acting so strange though..?

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, de svidaniya~!

(P.S. I feel so evil. I just finished up TWO bad endings because they were bugging me so much this super early morning. I may get nightmares of Steve after this.)


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